Motor News

Kia has shared details about the new plug-in-hybrid version of the 2023 Sportage.It comes with a larger battery and more powerful electric motor compared with the standard hybrid and promises an electric range of 32 miles.The 2023 Sportage plug-in hybrid will go on sale in the third quarter of this year.The Kia Sportage received a redesign for 2023 and is sprouting all sorts of new variants. A hybrid model was revealed a few months ago and now we have the details on the plug-in-hybrid model, which will go on sale in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2022. It will join the Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota RAV4, and the closely related Hyundai Tucson in offering a plug-in option to compact-SUV shoppers.

Like the hybrid, the Sportage PHEV is powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-four and an electric motor. But the plug-in version gets a more powerful electric motor and a bigger battery pack that’s said to provide 32 miles of electric range on a full charge. Kia won’t say what the hybrid powertrain’s total output is, but we reckon it’s about the same as the Tucson PHEV and the larger Kia Sorento PHEV, both of which make 261 hp. A six-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive put the Sportage plug-in’s power to the ground.
The Sportage plug-in looks pretty much the same as other Sportage models but does come standard with the X-Line appearance package that adds a few rugged-looking visual elements. It will be available in two trim levels, with the more expensive X-Line Prestige adding equipment such as a premium audio system and additional driver-assistance features.
Kia hasn’t revealed pricing for the 2023 Sportage yet, but we can assume that the plug-in hybrid will be the most expensive model in the lineup. It’ll likely start in the mid-$30,000 range when it goes on sale in the U.S. later this year.
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Chevy has given the Blazer a facelift for the 2023 model year, with a new grille and LED headlights and taillights.The Blazer also gets a slew of new paint colors and a 10.0-inch touchscreen, up from 8.0 inches.The 2023 Chevy Blazer goes on sale this summer.Earlier this year, Chevrolet announced that it will release an electric version of the Blazer in 2023. But before the crossover ditches the pump for the plug, Chevy is giving the existing Blazer a facelift for the 2023 model year, sharpening the exterior styling and modernizing the cabin with a larger touchscreen.
The visual updates for the 2023 Blazer are minor. The high-mounted LED running lights are sleeker and flow into a new grille design that is now linked to the main headlight unit via a C-shaped trim piece. Around back, the taillights gain new LED light signatures. New 18-, 20-, and 21-inch wheel designs are available and a series of new paint colors are on offer: Fountain Blue, Sterling Gray Metallic, Copper Bronze Metallic and Radiant Red Tintcoat.

Inside, all 2023 Blazers gain a 10.0-inch center screen—up 2.0 inches from the pre-facelift model—and wireless charging capability. The RS trim can also now be had with a Nightshift Blue interior. The Blazer continues to be offered with the choice of a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four, producing 228 horsepower, or a 3.6-liter V-6 making 308 hp. Both engines are still paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission and either front- or all-wheel drive will be offered.The 2023 Blazer will be available this summer. Pricing will be revealed closer to the on-sale date, but we don’t expect it to change much from the current Blazer’s price that ranges from $34,595 to $45,195.
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More than two years after showing the concept, Alfa Romeo has finally unveiled the 2023 Tonale SUV.The Tonale is the first Alfa Romeo that will be offered with a plug-in-hybrid powertrain. It will also come with a nonhybrid 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four.The Tonale goes on sale in the first quarter of 2023, with order books opening late this year and pricing information still to come.The 2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale is finally here. We first saw the Tonale as a concept back in 2019, but extra development for its gas-electric drivetrain and the chip shortage in 2021 delayed its debut. Now Alfa Romeo has finally presented the production version of its second SUV, which slots in below the Stelvio and becomes the first Alfa Romeo to feature a plug-in-hybrid powertrain.

Alfa Romeo

The 2023 Tonale will be offered with two powertrains. The headlining act is the new plug-in-hybrid setup, which pairs a 180-horsepower turbocharged 1.3-liter inline-four powering the front wheels with a 121-hp electric motor mounted on the rear axle. The system sends a combined output of 272 horsepower to all four wheels, and the electric motor draws its juice from a 15.5-kWh lithium-ion battery. The Tonale PHEV uses a six-speed automatic transmission and Alfa Romeo promises over 30 miles of electric driving range. The Tonale PHEV will feature three driving modes: Natural, which blends the engine and electric motor for everyday driving; Advanced Efficiency, meant for pure electric travel; and Dynamic, for maximum performance from both the engine and e-motor. Along with the plug-in model, Tonale buyers will be able to choose a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission. This engine produces a healthy 256 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. The nonhybrid Tonale will also come standard with all-wheel drive. Alfa Romeo promises that the Tonale will have the athletic driving dynamics that we’ve come to expect from the brand. Along with a quick 13.6:1 steering ratio, the Tonale features an independent suspension front and rear with optional adaptive dampers that can be set to Comfort or Sport. Stylistically, the Tonale stays true to the concept, with thin headlights featuring three U-shaped LED elements framing the traditional Alfa Romeo grille. The rear features a trendy full-width taillight that echoes the three-piece lightning motif from the front. The Tonale measures 178.3 inches long, making it a few inches longer than a BMW X1 but still over six inches shorter than an X3.

Alfa Romeo

Inside, the Tonale features a 10.3-inch center touchscreen running Stellantis’ Uconnect 5 infotainment system and a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster. Wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and wireless phone charging will be standard, and Uconnect 5 includes Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant. The Alfa Connect app will allow owners to start and stop the engine and lock and unlock the doors remotely, among other functions, and the Tonale will also be able to receive over-the-air updates.Alfa Romeo says the Tonale will be the first vehicle to come with a NFT digital certificate, which will record vehicle data throughout the car’s life cycle and act as a certificate that the Tonale has been correctly maintained and serviced. Alfa Romeo claims it will benefit the car’s residual value and help future owners buying on the used market know what they’re getting into. Alfa Romeo did acknowledge that that NFT will not keep a record if you decide to do maintenance yourself.

The Tonale is also equipped with standard safety tech including adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, and automatic emergency braking. A Traffic Jam Assist feature will be able to steer and adjust the speed of the vehicle on the highway.The Tonale will come in three trim levels—Sprint, Ti, and Veloce—and will go on sale in the first quarter of 2023. Order books open in the fourth quarter of this year, and we expect it to start around $38,000. The Tonale is the first of many electrified Alfa Romeos, with the Italian automaker announcing a car with hybrid and full-electric powertrains coming in 2024 before a dedicated EV arrives in 2025.
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The DS E-Tense Performance is a slinky electric supercar concept created by the luxury division of Citroen.The concept utilizes the two electric motors from the DS Techeetah Formula E race car, good for a combined 805 horsepower.The E-Tense Performance won’t reach production but will be track-tested by DS Techeetah’s two championship-winning drivers. Striking, isn’t it? Meet the DS E-Tense Performance, a concept which clothes the electric powertrain from a Formula E race car in a svelte coupe body topped off with a vivid green paint job. The E-Tense Performance serves as a sporty vision of an electric future for DS, the luxury arm of Citroen spun off in 2015. Unlike most concept cars, it will actually be put to the test around the track.
The Performance is an evolution of the E-Tense concept revealed at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. The muscular, low-slung body remains mostly the same, but the headlights are replaced by cameras and pointy T-shaped LED running lights. The gaping chrome grille of the original is swapped out for a black rectangular element featuring a 3D-effect DS logo, while vents and intakes are chiseled into the bodywork and a beefy diffuser dominates the rear end. The styling is made even more eye-catching by the beetle-influenced color, which changes shades depending on the angle at which you view it.

Underneath the spectacular design is a carbon monocoque and two electric motors from the DS Techeetah race car which competes in Formula E. With a motor on each axle, the E-Tense Performance puts down 805 horsepower, and DS claims it sprints to 62 mph in around 2.0 seconds. DS didn’t reveal the battery’s size, but says it is “housed in a carbon-aluminum composite envelope” and is positioned in a central-rear location for ideal weight distribution.
While the E-Tense Performance isn’t bound for production, the car will be tested by DS Techeetah’s two Formula-E-championship-winning drivers, Jean-Éric Vergne and Antonio Felix da Costa, in the coming months. The data collected from these tests will influence future DS vehicles, all of which will be electric starting in 2024. None of these vehicles is expected to ever reach our shores, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still drool over the E-Tense Performance and wonder, “What if?”
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The 2002 Ford SVT Focus shown here has a current bid of $5500 on the Bring a Trailer auction website.The car shows just over 18,000 miles on the odometer. Bidding ends Thursday, February 10.Here we have a car on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos) that is at the far opposite end of the attainability spectrum from our last Find of the Day, a 1987 Porsche 959. Whereas that ultra-rare Porsche supercar has crested $1.8 million and rising, bids for this equally red Ford hot hatch sits at just $5500 at this writing.

Bring a Trailer

Bring a Trailer

We’ll grant that, once you get past the exterior hue, the two cars don’t have a whole lot in common, but that’s not to say this Focus is without its merits. Ford’s SVT (Special Vehicle Team) in-house tuner shop has turned out some worthy enthusiast machines. The original Focus was lauded for its chassis tuning, and the SVT version further benefited from enhanced springs, shocks, anti-roll bars, and bushings. It also boasted four-wheel disc brakes with ABS. Output of its Zetec 2.0-liter four was increased to 170 horsepower thanks to a unique intake, exhaust header, forged connecting rods, cast aluminum pistons, a variable intake system, and a higher compression ratio. The engine is paired here with a six-speed manual transmission.

Bring a Trailer

Bring a Trailer

This example has just over 18,000 miles and was sold new in the state of Washington. It remained with its original owner until last year when it reportedly was donated. The receiving charity sent the car to auction, where the seller purchased it. An entry on the Carfax report indicates water damage, but the seller said he believes that was a clerical error. (You can read the discussion of it in the comments on Bring a Trailer’s bidding page.) In a period C/D comparison test, a 2002 SVT Focus beat a Honda Civic Si and a Volkswagen GTI. In that test, we said of the Focus: “It is simply in a handling class all by itself.” Unfortunately, whereas Volkswagen and Honda have stayed with their sport compacts, Ford let the flame die out on the SVT Focus. That could make this lesser-known hot hatch a relative bargain and a find for enthusiasts in the know.

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Rolls-Royce’s Spectre EV will feature a revised version of the Spirit of Ecstasy that it claims is more aerodynamic.The updated hood ornament is 0.7 inch shorter than today’s silver lady and includes updates to the design of the piece.Roll-Royce will retain the current ornament on its range of gas-powered vehicles.Even Rolls-Royce’s Spirit of Ecstasy requires a little cosmetic surgery every now and then, as the British brand revealed an updated look for its illustrious hood ornament. At 3.3 inches tall, the latest version of the Spirit of Ecstasy is almost 0.7 inch shorter than today’s version.

Rolls-Royce did more than just miniaturize the decorative piece; it also subtly restyled the silver lady, altering her flowing robes ever so slightly (that’s right, those are robes, not wings) and adjusting her stance. As a result, the flying . . . er, robed lady no longer stands with her feet together and legs straight. Instead, her legs are now slightly bent, with one positioned ahead of the other. Below you can compare the new hood ornament (left) with the old one, shown on the Cullinan.

Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce’s plans to fit the new Spirit of Ecstasy to the 2024 Spectre electric vehicle, and it claims the ornament’s more aerodynamic shape plays a role in the coefficient of drag (Cd) of 0.26 (a figure equal to that of the likes of the since-discontinued BMW i8 hybrid sports car) recorded by prototypes of the upcoming battery-powered coupe. Alas, Rolls failed to disclose the Cd of Spectre prototypes fitted with today’s Spirit of Ecstasy. As such, it’s difficult to determine the real role the silver lady’s cosmetic upgrades provide in the wind tunnel, and, in turn, if it helps noticeably improve the two-door EV’s energy consumption at speed.

Regardless, we wager its effects are not especially significant considering Rolls is opting to maintain the current Spirit of Ecstasy on its gas-powered Phantom, Ghost, and Cullinan models, none of which is a poster child for fuel efficiency. The new ornament, meanwhile, is earmarked for future Rolls-Royce vehicles, including the Spectre.
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Aston Martin says it will continue to produce its V-12 engine for the next five years.It’ll be seen in the upcoming V12 Vantage, along with the replacements for the DB11 and DBS.We won’t see a V-12 in the DBX SUV or in the upcoming mid-engined Vanquish and Valhalla supercars.Given that fewer than 50,000 12-cylinder cars are produced around the world each year (including Bentley and Audi’s W-12 examples), the question of which automaker will be the last to produce a V-12 engine might seem like a peripheral one. Yet the fate of this aristocratic cylinder configuration is one we take a keen interest in given the number of significant cars to have used V-12s. Now Aston Martin has confirmed it plans to keep offering its own V-12 until it is forced to stop by toughening European emissions standards. This means it will stick around for another five years, until 2026 or 2027.This is mildly surprising given that the newly announced DBX707 will use a reworked version of the twin-turbocharged AMG 4.0-liter V-8 making 697 horsepower—nearly as much as the 715 hp the twin-turbo 5.2-liter V-12 makes in the range-topping DBS. But Aston CEO Tobias Moers says there is no logic in using the new engine to replace the V-12 in its existing applications.“We won’t do that, the V-12 still has a bit of potential,” he said at the online unveiling of the DBX707, “and having the V12 Vantage shows there is still room for a V-12 in our sports car generation.”

The new V12 Vantage will be launched later this year and it will use much of the front structure developed for the V12 Speedster that Aston launched last year. We can also expect to see the V-12 continue in the cars that replace the current DB11 and DBS, with Aston insiders having confirmed that these cars will continue to use the same core structure of the current models. Moers did say that there are no plans to put the V-12 in the DBX, though.

V12 Speedster
Aston Martin

“Why should I get rid of the V-12 for the time being?” Moers asked. “The end of the life cycle for all these V-12s is the year 2026-2027.” That timeline corresponds to the proposed arrival of ultra-tough combustion standards in Europe, including real-time emissions reporting. “We’re not going to re-engineer the V-12 to make that.”Others of the select band of V-12 manufacturers have already confirmed plans to end production of their powerplants sooner. BMW is marketing a run of Final Edition M760Li sedans to mark the retirement of its engine. But while Aston’s V-12 is set to last longer than others, it is unlikely to be the final automaker with one in production: Lamborghini has confirmed the Aventador replacement will be launched with a hybridized naturally aspirated V-12, one with a lifespan that will run into the 2030s.

Moers also confirmed that the Vanquish and Valhalla mid-engined supercars Aston are developing won’t use the V-12, with both set to use versions of a V-8 based around the AMG GT Black Series’ flat-plane-crank V-8. This will be hand-built by the British company in the U.K. He also said this hybridized powerplant will come in both two- and three-motor configurations, with the latter using a pair of electric motors on the front axle capable of torque vectoring, like the Ferrari SF90 Stradale.
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In a world of possibilities, some of them become missed opportunities. And that was enough of a thought on which to hang this week’s episode of Window Shopping, an inspired idea submitted by viewer John Alterio.Five seasoned car writers—all dedicated, professional, and knowledgeable—gathered once again over Zoom to review old memories of the cars they nearly bought but, for some reason, let pass. These are cars that bring with them a haunting regret. Oh, the adventure that never was.Please join the five of us for this week’s episode of good, mostly clean, nearly coherent, always obsessive and informative automotive fun. Does that competition matter? No. So who cares if it’s corrupted and always inconsistent? Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds. Have you noticed that it’s better edited than before? Hey, there’s a dedicated video guy on board now, and his name is Carlos Lago.Mentioned in this episode: split-journal cranks, Dodge Viper parts, Triumph wheel-trim rings, CarMax, Carmex, Porsche nerdiness, and a surprising comparison of a 1.6-liter’s torque peak with childhood torture. As in every episode of course, the proper positioning of Porsche wheel crests and the incredible Toyota Tundra are mentioned. Somehow, and disappointingly, the importance of the color of brake fluid never arose.Who “won”? YouTube. Again.

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